Developer Wesgroup has revealed plans for a 49-storey tower at 1450 West Georgia Street in Vancouver’s chi-chi Coal Harbour neighbourhood, according to a report by local urban design blog UrbanYVR.
The proposed building is set to replace an aging rental building called Georgian Towers, which located at the West Georgia and Nicola Street intersection, and is at the end of its life.
If approved, the new building would be almost an even split of rental and market condo homes, containing 162 rental units, from studios up to three-bedroom units, and 187 condos, from one- to three-bedroom homes. The plans also call for around 3,000 square feet of at-grade retail space in a single-storey podium.
According to UrbanYVR, amenities include a public plaza with landscaping and a water feature, and a second-floor rooftop garden above the retail podium, including an outdoor yoga studio and communal seating areas. The design also includes a 21st-floor outdoor amenity space, include an outdoor fire table, BBQ and communal dining table.
Project architect Yamamoto Architecture’s design rationale reads, “The growth of towers where the City now stands was once a forest of evergreen trees. In developing our design, we looked to our local fir trees for inspiration, and for a way to think differently about how an appropriate building and structure might arise.”
The site is located in a cluster of high-end residential towers planned for the 1400 and 1500 blocks of West Georgia and Alberni Streets. These include Bosa Properties’ approved 42-storey “Jenga” tower by Ole Scheeren, Landa Properties’ approved twin stone-and-glass towers, and Westbank’s curvy 1550 Alberni by Kengo Kuma.
